Photo Credit: Bart O’Connor is the franchise owner of Filta in Exton, which recycles cooking oils from commercial kitchens. (BILL UHRICH – MEDIANEWS GROUP)
As the Filta franchise owner covering Lancaster, Berks, and Chester counties in Pennsylvania, Bart O’Connor helps restaurants and commercial kitchens. He does this by extending the life of fryer oil by micro filtering it. He also recycles old waste oil into biodiesel all while keeping kitchens clean and ready for use.
Thanks to our proprietary machinery and systemized process, Filta franchise owners such as Bart are actually keeping restaurant and commercial kitchens a lot safer as well. According to the American Burn Association about 12,000 restaurant burn injuries are reported each year. But the actual number is likely higher. Many injuries often go unreported. That’s just one of the many benefits Bart’s service provides.
Filta Franchisee Bart O’Connor Changes Pennsylvania Restaurants
Bart was recently quoted in the Reading Eagle as saying, “In today’s world of understaffing, this is a morale thing,” O’Connor said. “I’ve actually been hugged by quite a few kitchen workers, they’re like, ‘Oh, great, you’re doing this now.’ We’re prepared to do this. Kitchen workers, they might not have all (our equipment). There could be burns, there could be quite a lot of spills.”
What Filta Does
As a Filta franchise owner, Bart and his staff visit kitchens for cleanings anywhere from one to three times a week depending on fryer use. With his FiltaFry service, Bart grades oil on a scale of dirtiness. He then drains that oil out of the fryer into our proprietary microfiltration machine. All the impurities are removed. While the oil is filtering, he cleans the fryers by removing carbon buildup and contaminants. Once the filtration process is complete, the clean oil is put back into the fryer. And once the oil reaches the point it can no longer be reused, Bart and his team remove the old oil and take it off site to recycle into biodiesel.
Bart O’Connor on Filta’s Impact
“We’re making oil last longer, and that can save (clients) money,” O’Connor told the Reading Eagle. “We’re really the only one that really does the active management, in terms of really scrubbing the fryer and making sure it’s clean. We pay so much attention to it. Usually, we’ll filter one time a week, and we’ll dump the oil and take it with us the second time a week.”
Pennsylvania Service
Bart and his team are already working in commercial kitchens at Albright College in Reading, Penn., Lititz Springs Inn and Spa in Lititz, hospitals in Lancaster and Reading, corporate cafeterias at Mars and Manheim Auto Auction, Clipper Magazine Stadium, the home field of the 2023 Atlantic League Champions Lancaster Barnstormers, and others.
Bart O’Connor’s Future Plans
“Right now, I want to get maximum growth out of the three counties,” Bart told the Reading Eagle. “And I’m looking at growing into Montgomery County. I’m really looking to keep building routes. I’m putting capital in, with new technicians, and a new van I just bought, I have three vehicles (now). Just looking to keep it growing.”
What We Do
Nationwide, Filta’s customers range from single and chain restaurants to commercial kitchens inside hospitals, hotels, groceries, universities, casinos, business facilities, stadiums (NFL, NCAA, MLB, NHL), and more. Filta has recycled nearly 1 billion pounds of used cooking oil into biodiesel, significantly reducing the impact of waste fryer oil on the environment. For every gallon of biodiesel put into use, Filta prevents 16 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. For more information about Filta and its franchise opportunities, please visit www.filtafranchise.com.
